Rounded up from 4.5
This book is a collection of short stories, full of
imagination and creativity. One can jump from one story to another and be
amazed at how the characters and world have changed. Some endings are abrupt,
but that is the charm of short stories. Some leave us wanting more, while the
rest feel incomplete.
Some elements made me chuckle, like how the author pokes at
many questionable things in our current society. For example, the absurdity of
social media that continues to exist because there is a demand for it, and the
willingness to go into ‘character’ when portraying and investigating something
beyond common sense in Judith Rintaro and Fatty Blue. These topics are
entertaining in a sad way. There are stories that are touching and intriguing
in different ways, like Easy Peasy and Temptation.
Ironically, my least favorite story is the one picked as the
title. Perhaps because I checked out the performed audio version pointed out by
the author. Maybe it’s just not my thing because it is a very high-quality
production. I grew up during the time when radio drama was a thing. We listened
to stories performed by multiple actors without any visuals, and that was
sometimes the only entertainment we got. This is something similar. However, I
found it overacted, and the pace is a bit off, making the story feel so slow
that I still barely had any idea what creatures they were and how the world
worked with fifteen minutes left, which, sorry, I gave up and switched to the
book. The background noises are too loud and distracting and sometimes become
headache-inducing. The narration style also takes away the fight scene; it’s
like I’m hearing the story recited by my grandpa, not by someone experiencing
it like the protagonist. Again, this is my personal view; I believe others
would appreciate it more because, as said, it’s a high-quality production.
Besides this, which shouldn’t affect my review of the story, I found it’s not
as compelling as others.
Overall, this is a good short story collection for fans of
the supernatural and paranormal genres. I am not one, but I can appreciate the
creativity, storytelling, characters, and world-building.
